(CNN) – From the very beginning, China has played a major role in the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

That made sense, given more than 150 of the 239 passengers on board were Chinese citizens.

But the country's all hands on deck approach hasn't exactly paid off. A New York Times report slams China's role in the search effort, painting officials as being more concerned with showing off their technological capabilities.

(CNN) – The Bluefin-21 had to cut its last search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 short by 14 hours because the water was deeper than expected, taking the vehicle to its depth limit and forcing it to abort the mission and return to the surface.

It's just the latest challenge investigators face in this underwater search.

(CNN) – Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev described the standoff playing out right now in eastern Ukraine as "on the threshold of a civil war."

In the same region, the Ukrainian military has now mobilized what its fledgling government is calling an "anti-terrorism" operation against pro-Russia protesters holed up in government buildings along the border.

The Ukrainians say they've now recaptured an eastern airport, in a move the Russian media says cost four people their lives and left two more injured.

Meanwhile, Google has been symbolically drawn into the conflict after updating its Google maps service, for Russian users only, showing what was once the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, as now being just another part of Putin's playground.

Conakry, Guinea (CNN) - It took only moments to feel the impact of what was happening here.

We had just landed in Conakry, the capital of Guinea. In the fields right outside the airport, a young woman was in tears. She started to wail and shout in Susu, one of the 40 languages spoken in this tiny country of 12 million people. The gathered crowd became silent and listened intently.

The young man sitting next to me quietly translated, although I already had my suspicions. He told me the woman's husband had died of Ebola, and then quickly ushered us away.

Kharkiv, Ukraine (CNN) - An "anti-terrorist operation" is under way in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region against pro-Russia protesters, Kiev declared on Tuesday, with armored personnel carriers seen on the road in the restive area.

Twenty-four hours after a Ukrainian ultimatum expired for the protesters to lay down their arms, acting President Oleksandr Turchynov told Parliament the operation would be "conducted step by step, responsibly, cautiously."

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The Lead with Jake Tapper draws not only on Tapper’s deep knowledge of politics and national issues, but also seeks to examine and advance stories across a wide range of topics that demonstrate his own curiosities and interests. Compelling headlines come from around the country and the globe, from politics to money, sports to popular culture, based on news drivers of the day.